NRA to Approve Takahama Safety Measures

via NHK World / February 3, 2015 / Japan’s nuclear regulator is set to compile next week its final assessment on 2 reactors at the Takahama power plant (pictured) in Fukui Prefecture, central Japan.

The final document will certify that the reactors have passed the regulator’s scrutiny, which is a prerequisite for their restarts.

The final assessment follows the Nuclear Regulation Authority’s approval of its draft in December. The draft said the safety measures at the numbers 3 and 4 reactors by the plant’s operator have met new government requirements set after the Fukushima Daiichi disaster.

The regulator is examining about 3,600 opinions on the draft it received from the public in the 30 days after mid-December.

The NRA says the final document will come as early as Thursday of next week, after the public comments are gone through.

Kansai Electric Power Company will still need approval for equipment design details as well as the consent of local governments. The reactors are unlikely to be brought online before summer. In a document submitted to the NRA, the utility reportedly plans to restart the reactors in November.

The Takahama plant has 4 reactors. The NRA says that if the utility files restart applications for the remaining numbers 1 and 2 reactors, it will reassess the measures for numbers 3 and 4.

The NRA says this is because the severe accident command center for the numbers 3 and 4 reactors in the current plan is too close to the other 2 reactor buildings.